MLB Player News

Well, the Jr. means he isn’t Steve’s kid, which is kind of a bummer. Balboni, a 24-year-old reliever, had a 4.46 ERA and a 60/20 K/BB in 34 1/3 innings for low-A Lake Elsinore.

Yet another solid start for Herz. He mixed his fastball, slider, and changeup well against the Marlins’ right-handed lineup to keep them off-balance and keep runs off the board. There were few tense moments, but he was able to bear down when they came. Like in the third inning when he loaded the bases with one out before striking out Connor Norby and Jake Burger, probably the two best hitters in this lineup, back-to-back to end the inning. His ERA is down to 2.92 since the beginning of August and he’ll look to stay hot in his next scheduled start against the Mets in Citi Field.

What a legendary season it’s been for Finnegan. Presumed to lose the job at any minute heading into April, he trails only Ryan Helsley and Emmanuel Clase in saves and has only blown one of his last 14 tries. He’s one of the true MVPs of the fantasy baseball season.

Crews has been fun since being called up. Already installed as the lead-off hitter, he pushed the envelope in the first inning of this game by legging out an infield single, stealing second, stealing third, and coming around to score on an error from Edward Cabrera. The Nationals would struggle to muster anything else against Cabrera, so Crews’ aggressiveness provided a valuable spark. He’s up to three homers and eight stolen bases just 16 games into his short career.

Lopez’s solo shot provided the Marlins’ only offense in this game. That was his fifth long ball of the season and second in a week. Before that last one, he hadn’t homered since May 13th in what was a prolonged power drought.

It might finally be happening for Cabrera. He’s made great strides with his command over the last few months and that has allowed him to comfortably expand his arsenal to five pitches with the inclusion of his two-seamer and slider. With that, he’s become less repetitive and been able to attack hitters more aggressively. He didn’t fall behind in the count once all game against right-handed batters and he could’ve cruised through seven or eight innings if not for his own error in the first that brought two Nationals home. Cabrera is set for a tall task in his next start against the Dodgers at home.

Beau Brieske opened the game and retired all four batters he faced before turning things over to Hurter. The 26-year-old Hurter, pitching in his eighth game as a big-leaguer, remained perfect through the seventh before walking Adley Rutschman in a long at-bat to begin the eighth. He was lifted at that point, and Brenan Hanifee retired three in a row to finish the eighth. Tyler Holton took over in the ninth and wound up losing the no-hitter after 26 outs on a groundball triple from Gunnar Henderson. Hurter won a fifth straight outing between one start and four appearances as a bulk reliever; he’s pitched 24 2/3 innings and allowed six runs in those games. His overall ERA stands at 2.56 in 38 2/3 innings. The bulk role really does help with wins, so he’s not a bad option right now. However, it looks like he probably won’t pitch again before next Friday in a rematch versus the Orioles.

Holton gave up a two-out triple to Gunnar Henderson in a 1-0 game before rebounding to strike out Anthony Santander. The appearance tonight was Holton’s 60th of the year. He’s allowed 21 earned runs over 85 2/3 innings on the season. Last year, he made 59 appearances and allowed 20 earned runs in 85 1/3 innings. Quite simply, he’s been one of MLB’s most valuable relievers for a second straight year.

Eflin won five starts in a row after coming off the injured list last month, but this makes back-to-back losses, more because of the Orioles’ lack of offense than anything he’s done wrong. He’ll take a 3.55 ERA into next week’s start against the Giants.

That homer off Zach Eflin came as the second batter in the first inning. In spite of that, Carpenter wound up getting removed for a pinch-hitter against a lefty in the eighth inning. He’s had just 31 plate appearances versus southpaws this season (3-for-27, 1 HR), even though he’s crushed righties and seemingly earned more of an opportunity.

With any luck, this will prove minor. Eddy Alvarez replaced Lindor at shortstop tonight. If Lindor is going to miss time, the Mets will need to add an infield, perhaps again Pablo Reyes. It’d probably come at DJ Stewart’s expense.